Here at CWi, we receive numerous Civil War books to review every week. We also receive a fair number of what are called "galley proofs", which are pre-publication drafts sent with the hope that we will supply testimonials (or "blurbs") to be used on either the back cover of the book, or on the publishers website. We've all seen them. Some authors, historians and publications seem to take great pride in the number of "blurbs" they supply. We take the opposite approach. 99% of the time, we refuse to supply such testimonials. Laurie agreed to do it once for a Civil War Cookbook she thought was exceptional. Up till now, I never agreed to do it.

However, a little less than a year ago, I received a galley of a new, unknown edition of a Civil War classic, which also happened to be my all-time favorite Civil War book. The minute I saw it, I knew that when released, it would create quite a buzz in the Civil War community. It is not just a re-print (It's been re-printed scores of times.) It is a new expanded edition, never before published, done by the original author. Tomorrow is its official release date. So I'm thrilled that you will find a blurb from yours truly on the back cover, along with Ken Burns, Edwin Bearrs, James Lee McDonough and William C. Davis. So we're pleased to be the first to give a full review of a new edition of a Civil War classic.....

Many thanks. If I had to guess the percentage (and it would be a guess) I'd have to say somewhere between 25-35% And yes, there are many other intriguing additions. As I said in the review, I found what he was going to delete just as interesting as what he added. Lots of people who own the first edition may decide to pass on this one - I think that would be a mistake.

I did get it Javal, things have been hectic and I've got family coming in for Thanksgiving so I probably won't have a review until early December. Besides, it is a tedious read, which I'll probably elaborate on in my review.